Welcome to The Modesto Bee's Cutest Dog contest in celebration of National Dog Day on Aug. 26.

The contest is open to dog lovers in Stanislaus, Calaveras, Mariposa, Merced, San Joaquin and Tuolumne counties.

You'll need to register for the contest to submit a photo of your dog. Snapshots only of living dogs - no professional portraits or shots of your beloved in Doggie Heaven. One photo per dog, one dog per contestant. (Read the official rules for all the fine points.)

Once you've registered, simply go to the "Submit" page to enter a photo. All entries must be submitted online by Aug. 8. No entries will be allowed once the voting begins taking place on Aug. 18. Voting closes on Aug. 23.

If you merely want to vote in the contest, you'll need to register, too, so you can rate the dogs that others have submitted.

Registered users may rate as many dogs as they'd like, once a day for the duration of the contest. When the contest ends on Aug. 23, the top vote-getters will be be judged by a panel at The Modesto Bee. The panel will choose the top three dogs.